Xbox 2 No Hard Drive

In an interview with Globes Online, M-System's CEO Dov Moran confirmed that the successor to the Xbox will not include a hard drive. Here's the quote from the article:

"Microsoft has taken the hard disk out of its Xbox. The only thing left will be a CD; that's all. At some point, when users want to save their e-mail messages, copy music, or anything like that, the only storage they'll have is what we give them."

While Microsoft is mum on the subject, M-Systems was recently announced as the official supplier for the Xbox 2's flash memory units (memory cards). We don't know much about them, but they are said to be considerably bigger in size than current ones.

The lack of a hard drive implies several things. First, that either the new memory cards will be really, really big, or that Microsoft intends to expand on its server-side storage feature implemented in Xbox Live 3.0. Secondly, the lack of a hard drive means that we could see an end to custom soundtracks in games, as well as some of the other multimedia features showcased in Xbox Music Mixer and the like. Thirdly, expect the Xbox 2 to be significantly smaller than the current iteration.

With online play finally hitting its stride, it'll be interesting to see how Microsoft deals with downloadable content, patches, etc.

Could Microsoft release a hard drive add-on like Sony is doing with the PS2? It's entirely possible, but will users want to shell out another bill for the added functionality? Will certain games require its use? It's too early to answer any of these questions. Hopefully Microsoft will make some sort of announcement regarding the matter at this year's Game Developer's Conference or E3. Until then, savor every block of your Xbox's hard drive.